1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device for protecting an occupant of a vehicle and, more particularly, to an air bag device for a knee of an occupant as called a "knee bag device".
2. Description of the Related Art
An occupant protecting device having an air bag (or a knee bag) to be extended in front of a knee of the occupant of a vehicle is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 24110/1991 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 28050/1991. These knee bags can be extended to protect the lower half of the occupant by preventing the submarine motion of the occupant (i.e., the motion of the occupant's body moving into the front lower portion of the seat).
The occupant protecting devices, as known in the above-specified individual publications, have its air bag device arranged in front of the center of the seat. As a result, the air bag device is positioned near the knees of the occupant to raise a problem of deteriorating the comfortableness of the vehicle cabin. At a driver's seat, on the other hand, the steering column is located in the vicinity of the front of the seat center thereby to make it more difficult to arrange the air bag device.
In the knee bag device of the prior art, the air bag takes, when extended, a generally identical shape (i.e., the extended shape of the air bag) throughout the widthwise direction of the seat. With this extended shape, the occupant may have his or her legs opened, when his or her legs are advanced or pushed to the extended air bag. Namely, the right leg may slide rightwardly of the air bag whereas the left leg may slide leftwardly of the air bag so that the legs may be opened.